Don’t ask me how many hours were spent creating these avian critters. The answer is too many.
Some of them reside with friends, others in my personal aviary. Many have spent time visiting folks in a gallery or at an art show. No one has ever offered to buy one, so they hang on the walls throughout the house
Recently, I had a visit from my son, who lives in Texas. He came in to attend his sister’s funeral. We hugged at the door, and then he handed me a book. “You’ll like this, but I have to warn you that it is brutal. I just finished reading it, and I agree with his assessment; I liked it.
I never heard of author Kurt Schlichter before but the cover art caused me to jump right into the read, and I was about three chapters into it when I had to stop to check something out. Up to this point, I assumed this was a non-fictional story based on real events. What stopped me was that the author kept referring to a terrorist attack in the USA that happened on August 27, 28, and 29. I am usually up to date on my news and I had to Google the news of that period. There was no mention of any terrorist attack anywhere. That is when I finally realized that the story is fiction. This story strongly resembles current news and government. The president is clearly Joe Biden and his daffy Vice President Kamala Harris, but he never mentions their names anywhere in the story.
The plot of The Attack is genius. It is a war against the USA that is fought by hundreds of terror cells manned by thousands of illegal immigrants who came into the country over an open border and disappeared totally unchecked and unverified by anyone. The organizer, who remains anonymous, funded and housed cells of four to twelve or more agents in key cities throughout the country. They were to await instructions for when to go into action, having been prepped on their roles before hand; to kill as many Americans as they can before they themselves are killed. These are young men who will die and go to heaven to receive 72 virgins.
The attacks will be as follows:
DAY 1. Kill people, in no gun zones, schools, malls, airports, crowds in public places, etc., to overload the 911 system, and to cause confusion and chaos.
Day 2. Shift to neighborhoods at random around a city to spread police and emergency services apart. Kill families, and pets.
Day 3. Shift to infrastructure such as refineries, gas stations, water systems, train stations, airports, bus stations, and public transportation. Overload the 911 system, the police forces, fire departments, medics, and hospitals
The nationwide attack begins at 12:00 p.m. EST. All jihadists wear GoPro cameras linked to social media to broadcast the killing across the world to spread fear.
To explain any further would only spoil the outcome for readers.
I thoroughly agree with my son’s prediction that I would like the book. I recommend this to everyone as a wake-up call. The extent of our freedoms is making us stupid in so many ways. Throughout the story, the author uncovers how our liberal attitudes will someday cause our country to suffer. He also emphasizes the importance of owning firearms and learning to use them.
In the final chapters, Schlichter deals with how the government should respond to a mass attack as the one he has so eloquently formulated.
I give this story five stars, probably because I heed his message to be prepared.
After I win the Mega Millions lottery, I am going to buy a new car. It won’t be an Coupe-de-ville, but rather a custom built street rod. I will begin with an older U.S.built car from the 1934 through 1959 period. I will have it designed and built to my specs. It will be as stylish as anything from today’s car makers. The reliability will rival my current 2006 Avalon. The design will include all the modern technology that makes a 2025 car what it is: Electronic ignition, fuel injection, four wheel power disc brakes, automatic transmission with overdrive, power steering, and more. The cabin amenities will include air conditioning, power windows, keyless ignition, heated leather power seats, and more. In other words, it will be a 2025 car with a slightly used and reconditioned body.
Today’s street rods are an offshoot of the hot rods that are made for speed and drag racing. Street rods are totally drivable. I am amazed at the design ingenuity of hot-rodders that build their own cars. I once met a man who had customized a 1939 Buick (shown below). He’s been building and redesigning the same car for twenty years.
Why does it take so long? Well, one reason is money. The builders usually have a day job with limited money to spend. A second reason is time. Most of these guys are family men and spend time on their cars after family and work obligations are met. Some of them run body shops, so they can work on their cars when business is slow.
The hobby of custom hot rod building is a huge business in America. There are many organizations dedicated to supporting the builders. The National Hot Rod Association, Good Guys, National Street Rod Association are a few of them. One of my most popular weblogs is I Prefer Hot Rods With Fenders. This simple report keeps my BLOG alive with viewers. Hopefully this post will be enjoyed as well. I photographed the cars at the Tinley Park, Illinois Cruise Night on a Friday in August, and found the 1939 Buick. This is the same model year as the car I learned to drive on.
All of these cars were saved from the junk yard. They all look pretty and go like hell! ENJOY.
This morning began gloriously. The sun was bright, the air was temperate, and I had a list of chores to complete—the first chore involved slaughter at the border. My temple has been invaded by a creature known as a carpenter ant. These pesky things are giant compared to normal ants and are known to damage houses. They don’t eat wood like a termite does, but they do bore tunnels in wood to create their nests and dens. Usually, by the time they are discovered they have crossed the boundaries and have take up residence with the family. They don’t bite humans but they scare the hell out of the feminine gender as they traipse through a room looking for a piece of wood to call home. I usually find them by following the shrieks to where Lovely stands frozen in fear as she watches the black thing cut across the carpet in front of her. I must admit that this particular breed is equipped with wings. The bug encyclopedia explains that the wings belong to the queen amongst them. I don’t believe I have identified the right ant because every one that I have slain has had wings. Is it possible that an entire colony can be queens?
Although this image depicts a rather dangerous-looking creature, he/she is only about 2 cm long, which is enormous in the ant world.
The closest thing to a nest I found was under a cabinet containing bottles of my favorite beverages; there, under the right-hand corner, was a cluster of six or seven ants looking a little inebriated. It is hard to discern if they were drunk because ants don’t typically walk in a straight line. After Lovely stopped screaming “ant, ant” when I showed her the small squad in her sterile kitchen she very happily crushed the critters by squeezing them between her fingers in a napkin. After the slaughter she turned to me and proceeded to interrogate “are there any more?”
“Of course, there are more,” I said, “but they have all returned to their tunnels and disappeared like Hamas.”